Secretary Of Homeland Security Mayorkas Has Designated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months, Commencing April 19, 2022 and Concluding on October 19, 2023

Eligible Ukrainian applicants for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be permitted to apply for TPS-related employment authorization documents and permission to travel internationally at this time (advance parole). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has further announced that it will suspend and relax employment authorization regulations for certain Ukrainian students in F-1 student visa status. Eligible students may request employment authorization, work additional hours while school is in session, and will be permitted to reduce their course load while maintaining a ‘full course of study’ designation. Criteria for eligibility have been set out as follows:

• Must establish that the student is a Ukrainian citizen or must have last resided in Ukraine if they have no nationality
• Must establish that they are lawfully present in the United States pursuant to F-1 student visa status on April 19, 2022
• Enrolled in an academic institution which is SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) – certified
• Prove that they are experiencing economic hardship as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine

Students receiving authorization from their Designated School Official (DSO) to work off-campus must apply for an employment authorization document by submitting the mandated application forms and corresponding fees. Note that on-campus students are not required to file employment authorization documentation requests, but must instead secure endorsement of employment authorization from their Designated School Official.

H-1B Pre-Registration Submissions Soar This Year

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 14 that it received 483,927 H-1B registrations for this year’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 numerical allocation. A total of 85,000 petitions are eligible for selection in each year’s H-1B visa cap ‘lottery.’ USCIS completed its lottery selections at the end of March and advised that it initially selected 127,600 registrations that it projects it will need to reach the FY 2023 numerical allocation. The filing period for those H-1B petitions selected in the lottery runs from April 1, 2022- June 30, 2022. The commencement date for H-1B employment is October 1, 2022. This year’s submissions exceeded the 308,613 petitions filed last year.

Other visa options do exist for foreign nationals who may not have been lucky enough to have been selected in this year’s H-1B pre-registration filing period. Our office is available to discuss potential alternatives which might serve as options for foreign nationals that your company might wish to employ in the United States.

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